


Boundaries

by fl00fyfl0wer



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Battle, Blood and Injury, Childhood Friends, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gender-Neutral My Unit | Byleth, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Minor Angst, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, War, caspar is oblivious, idk how i cant think of tags for this but its past midnight, very subtle mention of sex right at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-28 19:50:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21142253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fl00fyfl0wer/pseuds/fl00fyfl0wer
Summary: When you’re friends with someone for a long time you tend to lose boundaries with them. Especially if you’ve been friends with them since before you even had boundaries.Linhardt and Caspar know the feeling.





	Boundaries

**Author's Note:**

> well. i shouldve probably worked on my dead silence series or the second part of my ashe/dedue fic but instead i wrote this. enjoy

They met back when they were six when their parents had to do some official business with each other.

Linhardt sighed at the energetic blue-haired kid that approached him.

“Hi! I’m Caspar! Who are you? Why are you here? Wanna be friends?”

Sitting up straight against the tree he was leaning against, he begrudgingly responded.

“Linhardt Von Hevring. My parents brought me here. Not really.”

Caspar frowned. “Aw, come on. Why not? You look cool!”

“You’re too loud and… what’s that word? Oh, right, obnoxious.”

“I’m not ob… ob… whatever! And I can be quiet! Watch!”

Caspar inhaled deeply and shut his mouth tight. It looked more like he was holding his breath than trying to be quiet.

And he was, because barely three seconds later he let out the air and took some deep breaths.

Linhardt had to laugh at him.

“Ha! I got you to laugh!” Caspar exclaimed proudly. “That’s what friends do, right? Now we gotta be friends!”

“You’re persistent, I’ll give you that.” The smile hadn’t left Linhardt’s face yet. “Tell me, what else do friends do?”

Now Caspar was really excited. He grabbed Linhardt’s hands and pulled him up without warning. “Come with me, I’ll show you!”

Linhardt let him lead him away.

\--

“You’re really letting your hair grow out, huh?” Caspar asked. He was running his fingers through the long green hair.

Linhardt shrugged. “It’s too much effort to keep cutting it. It just grows too fast. You can remember what it looked like when we met a couple of years ago, right? Although it is a bit of a pain sometimes. It gets in the way.”

“I have an idea,” Caspar ignored Linhardt’s little  _ oh no _ . “Wait right here.”

Caspar got up and left the room. It wasn’t like Linhardt would’ve left anyway. He didn’t know the house well enough, and it would’ve taken too much energy to move.

He came back a minute later with a white lace ribbon in his hand. He gave it to Linhardt.

“Here. Tie your hair back with this. Then it won’t get in the way when you’re reading. Or when we’re playing!”

Linhardt examined it, almost as if he was afraid it would attack him. Then he grabbed his hair and tied the ribbon around it. It certainly wasn’t the best looking, but it was functional enough.

“You look great! Now let’s go outside again before you have to go!”

\--

Caspar gasped. “You learned magic?! That’s so cool!”

“My parents say I have a real proficiency in it because of my crest. Mostly healing spells, though.” Linhardt sounded like he didn’t care, because he didn’t.

“Will you heal me if I get hurt in an epic battle?”

“Hmm… I don’t know… It’d have to be an extremely epic battle.”

Caspar thought for a moment. “What if… I got hurt protecting you from a ghost?”

“Perhaps… But could you even win against one?”

“Of course I could! I could win against anything!” He paused. “Look! There’s one now!”

Caspar punched the air a few times, accidentally hitting his hand against something as he did.

“There, it’s been defeated!” He then looked down at his hand. “Heh, ow.”

Linhardt took hold of Caspar’s injured hand. He barely had a scratch.

“You’ll live,” he played along with Caspar’s idea, ”but this isn’t serious enough to require any magic.”

Caspar pouted. “None at all?”

“Well… There’s a very very simple healing magic that even you could do.”

“Show me! Please!”

Linhardt laughed before lifting Caspar’s injured hand to his face and gently kissing where it was hurt.

“Very simple, like I said. I’m sure a relative of yours has done that to you at some point.”

Caspar nodded, excited at the idea that he could help in even the smallest way.

“I’ll use this power for good! And I’ll make sure to always protect you!” He announced.

\--

Linhardt kissed Caspar’s hand when he arrived. It was a tradition they had created.

“You won’t be here very long today, is that right?”

Caspar nodded.. “Unfortunately. My parents only have to sign a couple of papers and then go. But I have exciting news! I’m officially registered to be a student at the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach! I’ll be going next year!”

“Really? You always did talk about how much you wanted to attend. I’m happy for you.”

“Are you gonna attend too?”

Caspar sounded hopeful, like he wanted Linhardt to attend with him.

Linhardt shrugged instead of giving him a definitive no. “I’d really prefer not to be in battles, but… I think I’ll need to keep you out of trouble.”

Before Caspar could defend himself from Linhardt’s comment, his parents called out to him.

Caspar kissed Linhardt’s hand and quickly made his way over to his parents, calling out “I’d be happy to see you there” over his shoulder.

\--

“This place is huge,” Linhardt whispered to himself as he entered Garreg Mach.

As he looked around to try and find where he was going, he almost got knocked over by a sudden force running into him and embracing him. He was surprised he managed to stay up. When he caught his balance he turned his head to see what in the world tackled him.

“Ah, Caspar. Of course it’s you.” Linhardt spoke in his usual relaxed tone but he could not hide the smile creeping onto his face.

Caspar let go on Linhardt. “You didn’t tell me you were attending!”

“I myself did not know until very recently. Apparently my parents had signed me up without me knowing.”

Without much thought, Linhardt lifted Caspar’s hand up and kissed it, just like they had done every time before. None of the other students around them seemed to notice.

“Shall we go find our house leader? I’d love to be shown the dorms. Hopefully the beds are comfortable.”

Caspar laughed. “That’s just what I’d expect from you, Linhardt.”

They headed further into the entrance hall. They did not walk hand in hand but they were close enough that they might as well have been.

\--

“Can you believe that mercenary became the professor for the Golden Deer house? I kinda wish they were our professor… I’d love to train with them!”

Linhardt rolled his eyes. “First of all, please do not talk with food in your mouth. Second of all, you can still train with them, you know. There’s no rule against it.”

Linhardt ate his food at a normal pace while Caspar shoveled all of his into his mouth. It looked like he wasn’t even chewing.

“You know,” Linhardt said after taking another bite,” I’ve heard students can request to transfer classes and teachers can recruit students to their classes. Think you might abandon the Black Eagles for a chance to train with that professor?”

“Only if you came with me,” Caspar replied with no hesitation.

Linhardt raised an eyebrow. “Really? I’d be the only thing stopping you?”

Caspar nodded, finishing the last of his food. “Can’t be without my best friend.”

Laughing quietly, Linhardt kissed two of his own fingers before gently pressing them against Caspar’s hand. His hand was too dirty to kiss directly, but he also noticed some people looking at them weird whenever they greeted each other like that. He decided that this way would be much more subtle.

\--

Caspar headed to the library where he knew he’d find Linhardt either engaged in a book or asleep in a corner.

Before he could step into the library he heard Linhardt speak which made him stop. He didn’t want to interrupt.

“You want me to join your class?” Linhardt asked.

“Yes.” Caspar recognized professor Byleth’s voice. He was surprised they asked Linhardt. There was no way Linhardt would say yes though, right?

Silence. Then, “I suppose I’ll join. You seem much less strict of a teacher than professor Manuela. Would you allow me to nap in class?”

Caspar heard Byleth laugh, then ignore the question as they said “I’ll expect to see you before class tomorrow to finalize your transfer.”

Then, as Caspar was still processing how Linhardt could just leave the Black Eagles, Byleth was now in front of him.

“Oh, Caspar. Perfect timing. I wanted to speak with you.”

Caspar stared at the professor for a moment before coming to his senses. “Uh, yes professor?”

“Would you like to join my class?”

Caspar almost jumped. “Oh wow you’re really right to the point huh?” 

He took another moment to think, before remembering, not even realizing he forgot, that Linhardt agreed to join professor Byleth’s class just a minute ago.

“Of course I’ll join your class,” he announced loudly. “I’ll work really hard!”

“Great. Meet me before class tomorrow to finalize your transfer.”

He nodded as they walked away.

Lost in thought yet again, Linhardt managed to sneak up on Caspar despite approaching from in front of him.

“So you accepted?”

This time Caspar did jump.

“Linhardt! You just transferred to their class! You didn’t even check to see if I transferred! What if I said no to joining their class?”

Linhardt grabbed Caspar’s shoulders.

“Calm down a bit. They told me they were going to ask you next and that they’d tell you that I accepted to join. Did you not hear that part? You were just right here, right?”

“I, uh, must’ve zoned out.” Caspar rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. “I was just so shocked that you accepted!”

He smiled. “I never thought I would see you get flustered by something so small.” He then yawned in an exaggerated way. “Well, it is getting quite late. I’m going to head back to my room.” He started walking away.

“Hey!” Caspar called out much louder than he needed to. “It’s not even sunset yet!”

\--

Linhardt ignored the knocking at his door, hiding under the covers of his bed. He had stayed up extremely late after finding an interesting book in the library.

“Linhardt,” Caspar called out through the door, “Wake up before I have to break in.”

Linhardt sighed as he slowly got up. He opened the door to let Caspar in before getting right back into bed.

Caspar sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at Linhardt. “Come on, you have to get up. The professor said you have to attend choir practice today.”

“Must I?” He groaned, eyes closed.

Caspar brushed the hair off of Linhardt’s face, distracted from Linhardt’s question.

“You know, if this was some old fable and you were a fair maiden or whatever, I’d be the courageous knight sent to rescue you from an evil sleep curse.”

“And how would you wake me from my curse?” Linhardt asked with a laugh.

“I dunno, throw water on you?”

Linhardt laughed more. “Usually this kind of story would require a kiss to break the curse, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t wanna kiss you without permission.” He got really quiet. “That’s why I haven’t kissed your hand recently… You seemed uncomfortable with it.”

Linhardt sat up. “I’m not necessarily uncomfortable with it. It’s just… a little strange now that we’re older. When we were kids it was fine, but now when we do it people tend to stare. I don’t enjoy the attention.”

“Oh, I see.”

Caspar was a bit disappointed, but then he remembered why he was there in the first place. He stood up and grabbed Linhardt’s hands, pulling him off the bed.

“You still have to go to choir practice with the professor.”

“Of course somehow you managed to get me up. Alright, alright. I’ll go. But first you have to get out so I can get ready.”

Caspar nodded and headed towards the door, but stopped when Linhardt spoke again.

“Oh, and if I ever do happen to be in some evil sleep curse, I give you permission to kiss me to wake me up.”

\--

A loud crashing sound woke Linhardt. As soon as he opened his eyes he saw a light flicker and heard another loud sound. He could tell immediately it was a thunderstorm, and he could tell immediately that he would need to go to Caspar’s room.

He knocked on Caspar’s door. He could hear him clear his throat before standing up. When the door was opened it took Caspar a second to recognize it was Linhardt with how dark it was. Almost as if the weather was listening to his thoughts, lightning flashed again, lighting up the room for a split second. Caspar immediately grabbed hold of Linhardt’s arm for some form of comfort.

Linhardt walked into the room, closing the door behind him before bringing Caspar back over to his bed. They both lied down.

As more lightning struck and more thunder crashed, Caspar held onto Linhardt tightly, burying his face in his shoulder. Linhardt wrapped his arms around him, holding him as close as physically possible.

“Focus on my presence,” Whispered Linhardt. “I’m here. I won’t let anything hurt you. You’re safe.”

Caspar took in a shaky breath. “You’re here… You won’t let anything hurt me… I’m safe…”

Caspar quietly repeated that to himself. It was something he and Linhardt found had helped in these situations.

Eventually, all Caspar could hear was Linhardt’s heart beating and Linhardt’s breathing, and soon enough, he managed to fall asleep.

These situations were the only time Caspar fell asleep before Linhardt even closed his eyes.

\--

“It feels like everyone is transferring to the new professors class,” Dorothea said as she sat down next to Caspar and Linhardt. “I mean, just look how full this class is.”

She was right. Almost every seat was taken. It looked like all of the Black Eagles except Edelgard and Hubert were in the Golden Deer classroom, and some of the Blue Lions as well.

“Hmm… If they could, they’d probably recruit Edelgard and Dimitri into this class,” Linhardt joked.

“I almost wish they could,” She sighed. “I do enjoy this class, but it doesn’t feel the same without Edie... I wonder though… Will she be the Black Eagles representative for the White Heron Cup? I can’t imagine Hubert would be.”

Caspar laughed when he imagined Hubert dancing, but then he and everyone else got quiet when the professor walked into the class.

“Good morning everyone. Before I get started with today's lesson I have a little announcement. I’m sure you all already know about the White Heron Cup. Well, I’m having trouble choosing a representative. If you would like to be chosen, please write your name and put it in this bowl. I will choose a name at the end of class.”

Many students, including Dorothea, Hilda, Claude, and Sylvain immediately wrote their names on a piece of paper and dropped it in the bowl. Less eager but still willing to fill out their names were Petra, Ferdinand, and Lorenz. Surprisingly, even Marianne, Ignatz, and Ingrid put in their names.

After the professor was sure everyone who wanted to put in their names, they started the day’s lesson.

At the end of the class, the professor pulled a name out of the bowl.

“Marianne.”

Most of the others that put in their names were disappointed, and Marianne was now regretting her decision.

“A-Are you sure?” She asked quietly.

Hilda wrapped an arm around her. “Don’t sweat it, Marianne. I’ll help you practice and you’ll be the best dancer out there.”

The students then became leaving the class, aside from Linhardt, who had fallen asleep, and Caspar, who had to wake him up.

He nudged Linhardt. “Hey, wake up. Class is over. Marianne got chosen for the White Heron Cup.”

“Good for her,” Linhardt yawned as he stretched. “Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to head to my room.”

He stood up and Caspar followed right behind him as he left the class.

“Following me to my room?”

“What? Of course not! I’m just going in the same general direction.”

“It would be faster to go that way to the training grounds.” He pointed in the opposite direction.

“Are you trying to get rid of me? I didn’t even get to ask if you were going to the ball yet.”

Linhardt stopped.

“Am I going to the ball? I’m sure you already know my answer.”

“Yeah, I know, you’d rather be sleeping or researching something.” Caspar cleared his throat. “But I also wanted to ask, uh, if you wanted to go to the ball with me? I think it’d be fun! We don’t have to dance and if it gets too loud for you we can step out for some peace and quiet.”

Linhardt couldn’t help but smile. “You’re quite considerate. I suppose I’ll think about it. But for now, goodnight, Caspar.”

He took Caspar’s hand and kissed it before continuing on to his room.

\--

“The Goddess Tower? That seems like a bit much of a walk for some peace and quiet,” Linhardt said.

Caspar was already dragging Linhardt towards it.

When they got there, the music from the ball was faint. They were about to just head straight in when they reached the top but stopped when they heard voices. They were too quiet to hear any actual words, but it sounded like the professor and Dorothea.

Their suspicions were confirmed when they glanced in just a little bit and saw the two standing hand in hand with Dorothea appearing to be saying something. Linhardt and Caspar then hid as the other two made their way towards the entrance. When they were a safe enough distance away, Caspar broke the silence.

“How did they not see us?”

“Doesn’t matter. Now, do we want to hide in this staircase all night or are we actually going to enter the Goddess Tower?”

The pair walked into the tower, looking around to make sure they weren’t intruding on anyone else. When they were sure it was all clear, Linhardt sat down on the floor.

“That was tiring,” he said.

Caspar sat next to him, not saying anything, which surprised Linhardt.

“Is something wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, no, nothing’s wrong. It’s just that the reason we’re here is because you wanted to get away from the loudness of it all. I don’t want to interrupt your silence.”

“Ha, I remember when we were kids it was impossible for you to be quiet.” He ignored the gentle nudge on his arm from an offended Caspar. “You don’t need to be quiet, though. It’s quite strange but without your voice it almost feels too quiet.”

“That is weird, but I can talk. What to talk about… Oh, I know! You should hear what happened when I was training yesterday!”

Caspar rambled on and on and Linhardt listened, leaning against him with his eyes closed. Caspar’s voice was comforting to him.

“You know, Linhardt, I hope we’re friends like this for our whole lives.”

“I do too,” Linhardt said before he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning the two of them got scolded by a guard for falling asleep there.

\--

“Did you see the professor’s hair and eyes? It’s crazy!”

Other students that were in the library didn’t appreciate Caspar’s loudness.

“I think it’s fascinating. I wonder why it could’ve happened and if it involved their crest…”

Caspar groaned. “You sound like professor Hanneman. Crests this and crests that.”

“Luckily I’m not as intrusive as he is. Or as talkative. Honestly, my research is much less intense than his.”

“You should spend more time training. You study and research so much, a little extra physical work wouldn’t kill you.”

“And do you have an excuse for neglecting your studies?”

“Hey, I study plenty! I just don’t think it’s as important for me. Training is much better.”

Linhardt rolled his eyes. “I suppose that’s just how it is. We are almost complete opposites.”

“That’s good though!” When Linhardt looked confused, he continued. “We balance each other out. Right? Both on and off the battlefield.”

“You know, I believe you’re right about that,” Linhardt said with a laugh. “To be quite honest, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Caspar beamed with pride.

“Now if you’ll excuse me once again, this document on Saint Cethleann is very interesting.”

\--

“Edelgard declared war against the Church of Seiros,” Seteth announced to the students. “We must prepare our defenses against their attack.”

The former Black Eagles students all gathered together.

“To think Edelgard was the Flame Emperor all along…” Ferdinand mumbled.

Dorothea shook her head, unable to believe it. “Edie…”

Bernadetta hid behind Petra. “W-What’s going to happen now? Do we have to f-fight her?”

“I am thinking that is what we will have to be doing,” Petra answered, a sadness in her tone.

“I’d rather not have to fight people I know, but I have to protect this place!” Caspar hid his worry by being loud.

Linhardt sighed. “This is all so tiring. I hope we can just get it over with.”

When the small group disbanded to start working on preparing, Caspar and Linhardt went out to the gazebo. They sat on a bench nearby it.

“Linhardt… I’m worried…”

Linhardt nodded slowly. “I am too…”

They sat in silence for a moment, until Caspar grabbed Linhardt’s hand.

“Promise me you won’t die in this war.”

Linhardt wanted to say he couldn’t promise anything, that he had no power over living or dying, but seeing how genuinely worried Caspar was stopped him.

“Only if you promise me the same thing. And… promise me you’ll be here for that class reunion the professor mentioned. If we lose touch during the war somehow, that will be how we know if our promise has been kept.”

“Of course. I promise. I won’t let you down, Linhardt.”

\--

Caspar sent letters at first. He knew Linhardt would be staying in one location. Linhardt couldn’t reply to the letters. Caspar was moving around too much. But just reading them was enough to know he was alive.

Then the letters slowed down, and then they stopped. Linhardt worried but tried to avoid the thought of the worst-case scenario happening. It wasn’t like he could do anything about it.

Time went by impossibly slow for the two of them, neither knowing what was happening to the other.

Then, five years had passed, and they both headed back to the monastery.

When Linhardt arrived, he noticed how it seemed like a minor battle just took place beforehand. The next thing he noticed was how the professor was still alive. He was happy for that. It might’ve been a sad reunion without them.

“Linhardt!”

He jumped when he heard his name yelled out, but then he realized how familiar the voice sounded. He turned to face where the voice had come from. That’s when he saw Caspar running at him.

Linhardt braced himself, but as soon as Caspar ran into him and attempted to embrace him he fell over, bringing the other boy with him. Fortunately, they landed on a patch of grass.

Caspar quickly sat up and dragged Linhardt up with him, enveloping him in a proper hug.

“I’m so glad you’re safe. I’m sorry I stopped sending letters it just got too difficult to find messengers. I was so worried about you.”

Caspar had started rambling. Linhardt let him, until he noticed his voice was getting shaky. He leaned back to get a good view of his face.

“Caspar… are you crying?”

He rubbed his eyes to try and hide it. “No, I just… uh… got dirt in my eyes when we fell. Yeah. That’s what happened.”

Linhardt put his hands on the sides of Caspar’s face, holding it up so he couldn’t hide it. “You’ve never been a good liar, you know.”

Caspar laughed. “You’d see right through me even if I was an amazing liar.”

Linhardt smiled. “Perhaps I would.” He examined Caspar’s face. “You know, you look much better when you’re happy than when you’re crying.”

“Guess I’ll just have to stay happy then.”

“That’s a good idea. It’s the memories of seeing you happy that made me worry less, after all.” He let go of Caspar’s face and wrapped his arms around him in a hug once again, resting his head on his shoulder. “I missed you. A lot. I truly hope we’re never separated like that again.”

\--

Linhardt never liked the sight of blood, but it was even worse when it was his own.

He had to focus on healing his allies because Marianne had to retreat. The professor was fighting enemies head-on, Ignatz and Bernadetta did their best to keep enemies away from behind, Dorothea and Lysithea targeted enemies with armor too thick to be damaged by physical weapons, and Caspar was charging directly into groups of enemies.

The enemies were luckily being drawn back very quickly, but there were still many left. Linhardt was running out of energy but he knew he had to keep going. They wouldn’t win if they had no healers.

“Linhardt, behind you!”

He couldn’t tell who called out but he managed to turn around and shoot a spell at the enemy who was ready to strike. The enemy fell. One thing he liked about magic was how it caused barely any wound.

Now, from his side, he heard weapons clashing. When he turned his head he saw Caspar trying to get his axe past an enemy's lance. It would’ve been an easy victory for Caspar, at least until an enemy mage shot a dark magic spell at him. The injury from the magic caused him to flinch, which gave the enemy lance user a chance to strike.

The lance went directly into Caspar’s shoulder and was then pulled out, causing blood to gush from the wound. Linhardt wanted to vomit.

Caspar still tried to attack, holding his axe with one hand. However, he was too unsteady and promptly dropped it.His new wound combined with his previous wounds made him too weak to do anything. The enemy would’ve attacked Caspar again if Linhardt hadn’t managed to gather as much energy as possible to shoot a fire spell at them.

The enemy was defeated and Linhardt ran over to Caspar. He tried healing Caspar’s wound, but he lacked the energy to do much besides temporarily stop the blood flow. He then tried to carefully drag Caspar away from the battle in a way that wouldn’t damage the wound anymore. He didn’t get very far before he felt too weak and tired to pull him any further.

“You’ll be okay, Caspar. The battle is almost over. We’ll take you to Manuela as soon as we can.”

Linhardt never liked the sight of blood, but it was much, much worse when it was Caspar’s.

Linhardt waited for Manuela to let him into the infirmary to see Caspar. He was worried. He wished he could’ve done more to help him in the moment. 

“I’ve patched his shoulder wound,” Manuela said when she opened the door. “He’ll be fine but he shouldn’t exert himself too hard for a few days.”

“May I go in and see him?”

“Of course. He’s awake now and he was asking after you.” She stepped out of the way to let Linhardt past.

“Thank you.”

Caspar was on the bed closest to the door so Linhardt saw him as soon as he walked in. He was sitting up and when he saw Linhardt his face lit up. Linhardt sat down in a chair next to the bed.

“Caspar, you’re so reckless.”

“I had to stop that guy! He was going right for you!”

Any further judgments Linhardt might’ve had were gone now. He hadn’t noticed the enemy until Caspar was fighting him.

“You… saved me?”

“Don’t act so surprised! I said I would always protect you. Remember?”

Linhardt nodded. He did remember. It was so many years ago, when they were still kids.

“And we both promised not to die in this war. I couldn’t let you break that promise. What would I have done if- Linhardt?”

Linhardt was crying. “You idiot. You could’ve died.”

Caspar reached out to wipe Linhardt’s tears away, ignoring the pain in his shoulder.

“I’ve never… seen you cry before… You’ve seen me cry so many times during thunderstorms or if I got hurt while playing as a kid, but you’ve never cried in front of me… I’m sorry. I was reckless.”

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be crying. I’m sure it wasn’t that serious. I just get so worried about you.”

Caspar moved his hand from Linhardt’s face to his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “No need to worry right now. Here I am right in front of you, alive and well. Just… focus on me being here.”

Linhardt smiled, holding Caspar’s hand. “Let’s both survive this war.”

\--

“Hey, Caspar? What will you do when the war is over?”

The pair were on Caspar’s bed, with Caspar sitting with his back against the wall and Linhardt with his head on the other’s lap. Caspar was running his fingers through Linhardt’s hair.

“After the war? I actually haven’t thought of it much… I guess I’ve just been living in the moment.”

Linhardt closed his eyes, humming in response. That sure did seem like Caspar.

“What about you? Going to keep focusing on crest things?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. What use will crests have in a time of peace?” He continued, not expecting a response from Caspar. “I’m afraid I won’t be of much use after this war. Maybe I’ll have to become a physician.”

“Hey, you won’t be of no use after the war is over!” Caspar’s sounded offended, and Linhardt could tell his brows furrowed without even looking at him. “You’ll still be there for me, won’t you?”

“In spirit or in person?”

Caspar went quiet. Linhardt, being curious, opened one eye to look at him. If it was a blush he saw on Caspar’s face then it was gone as quickly as he had noticed it.

“I’d rather in person. I think five years apart was enough, don’t you?”

“I think you’re right.” He raised a hand to cup Caspar’s face. “We may not have any idea of what we’ll do, but I’ll stick with you no matter what.”

Linhardt thought he saw the blush again.

\--

It wasn’t normal for Caspar to eavesdrop on people, but he found it hard to ignore the fact that he just saw the professor walk into Linhardt’s room.

“Thank you for coming, professor.”

“Not a problem at all, Linhardt. What’s troubling you?”

“How do I phrase it? Hm… Well, I have suspicions that someone has romantic feelings for me, but I don’t want to ask them if they do.”

Caspar covered his mouth to stop himself from gasping in shock. Someone has feelings for Linhardt? And he didn’t mention it to him first? Unbelievable!

“Might I ask who this person is?” It sounded like the professor was grinning, as if they knew something.

“I may be wrong, so I think it best if I don’t say who. However, it is someone we both know well.”

“I see… What gives you the idea they have feelings for you?”

“Recently they’ve been acting a bit different about me. It’s not like they avoid me or act nervous around me, more like things they probably don’t notice either, like staring at me longer than usual or touches lingering longer or blushing when they see me.”

“It sounds like he doesn’t know he has feelings for you yet.”

Why did the professor say he? Linhardt didn’t say it was a boy, did he?

“How did you know I was talking about a boy?”

“Lucky guess. But anyway, try to view how he acts around other people and compare it to how he acts around you. Maybe you could also casually mention relationships around him and see if he gets flustered.”

“That’s good advice. I’ll have to remember it the next time I see him. Thank you, professor.”

Caspar realized their conversation was coming to an end so he quickly ran away from the door and made it look like he was only just approaching as the professor left his room. They nodded at him in acknowledgment as they passed.

He still couldn’t believe Linhardt hadn’t told him his suspicions.

\--

Caspar kept watching Linhardt’s interactions with the other men in their army. He wanted to see if he could spot the things Linhardt spotted.

Claude didn’t seem like an option. The two only talked when it came to strategy. It was similar with Lorenz too, but with the added groaning of how obsessed with his nobility he was.

Ignatz and Raphael might’ve been possible options, but Raphael was always talking about his little sister and Ignatz was too shy.

Sylvain was always flirting with girls and Felix never flirted with anyone or even really acted too nice to anyone, so they were both off the table.

Ashe was really friendly with everyone and treated them all equally. A good friend, but definitely not crushing on Linhardt.

Then there was Ferdinand. He and Linhardt did talk a lot, but that was mostly in part to both being from the same house. It did make him the only suspect Caspar could think of, though. He decided he would just have to keep a closer watch.

Coincidentally he happened to see Ferdinand and Linhardt talking just that very moment. He kept his eyes on the pair, watching Ferdinand’s hands and face to see if he was blushing or staring or touching.

When Ferdinand walked away a few minutes later, he saw none of those things. Caspar almost yelled in frustration. He just wanted to know who had feelings for Linhardt.

He approached Linhardt, draping his arm over his shoulders, but not saying anything. He just looked at his face. This was normal for them.

“Hello, Caspar. Might I ask why you were staring at me and Ferdinand?”

“Wha- I, uh, well,” He couldn’t just tell him he eavesdropped on him. “You uh… both have really nice hair.”

Linhardt didn’t seem to believe it. “Really? You stared at us for our whole conversation because you like our hair?”

Caspar nodded a bit too enthusiastically.

“I have no reason to not believe you,” He shrugged. “But I don’t believe you.”

“Oh fine.” Caspar could never get away with lying to Linhardt. “I overheard you talking to the professor about someone having feelings for you and I wanted to find out who it was.”

Linhardt laughed. “That’s it?”

Caspar blushed in embarrassment. “Oh be quiet. Is it so wrong for me to be curious? And can you tell me who it is?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” was all Linhardt said before he made his way towards the dorms.

“Linhardt! Wait up! What’s that supposed to mean?”

\--

“It’s me?!”

Ashe covered his mouth to muffle his laughter.

“Hey, don’t laugh at me! I’m actually confused!”

“Caspar,” Ashe put a hand on his shoulder, “I’m sorry to say but you’re pretty oblivious about these things. I thought you’ve been crushing on Linhardt for months now.”

“How can I not know how I feel though? Are you sure it’s me? I don’t notice myself acting any different around him. Sure, I may kind of stare sometimes, and he just has really soft skin and hair that is nice to touch, but I certainly don’t blush around him!”

Ashe shook his head. “You’re blushing right now just talking about him.”

“What? No I’m not.” He touched his own face, surprised to feel how warm it was. “Besides, I’ve felt the same way about him for as long as I can remember. I want to protect him and spend time with him and kiss him. Is that not how other people feel for their best friends?”

“Did you… say you want to kiss him?”

“Huh? Well… yeah. We’ve done that since we were kids. Only on the hand though.”

“Hmm…” Ashe took a good look at Caspar. He was still blushing and there was a small smile on his face. “Have you ever wanted to kiss him on the lips?”

“On… On the lips…” Caspar thought of Linhardt’s lips. He was surprised when such a clear image of them popped into his mind. He noticed how soft they looked, especially when Linhardt smiled. Then his mind wandered to how he looked when he smiled. The way his eyes lit up subtly but enough for Caspar to notice. And his eyes were so beautiful to begin with. Caspar felt his face burn so hot that he had to cover it with his hands.

“Caspar? You okay?”

“Oh boy… I’m… in love with Linhardt.”

“You’re finally admitting it. Now what will you do?”

Caspar thought of his options. “I could tell him my feelings directly... Wait, doesn’t he already know? But he said he wasn’t sure…” Caspar groaned in frustration. “Are feelings this difficult for everyone?”

“Most likely. I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to handle this. Good luck.”

\--

Caspar couldn’t help but feel nervous around Linhardt now. He tried not to let it get the best of him so he could focus on the war, but every time he saw Linhardt he couldn’t stop his face from burning. He tried to avert his gaze but just knowing he was there was enough to make him blush.

Linhardt approached him while he was in the dining hall. “Is there a reason you’ve been avoiding me?”

“What? N-No, I haven’t been avoiding you. I’ve just… been busy. Gotta keep my strength up, you know?” He forced a laugh.

Linhardt sighed. “I won’t pry, but the war seems to be coming to an end. That excuse won’t work for long.” He left the dining hall.

Caspar let out a breath.

\--

“What an idiot…” Linhardt mumbled as he stared at a book in the library. He couldn’t seem to focus on any of the words, which was rare for him.

Sylvain, who Linhardt had rarely spoken to, took a seat at the same table Linhardt was at.

“That look on your face… Issues with love?”

Linhardt looked up at him. There was a dumb smirk on his face, and it felt like he was mocking him.

“Quite frankly, it happens to be none of your business.”

“Linhardt, buddy, I happen to be an expert when it comes to love. I can tell you exactly what not to do.”

“I don’t know if I want to take any advice from you, even if it is what not to do,” he scoffed.

“Tell me, what is it about this girl that-”

“Boy.”

“Huh?”

“I like men, Sylvain. Well, one man, I suppose. A complete and utter dumbass.”

Sylvain seemed a bit surprised, but then he nodded thoughtfully. “It’s Caspar, isn’t it?”

When Linhardt didn’t respond, Sylvain knew he hit the nail on the head.

“So what is it about him that’s causing you trouble?”

“He’s oblivious. I know he has feelings for me. He knows I know. Yet he doesn’t know I have feelings for him. I think if I told him he’d believe I’m saying it to mess with him.”

“Never had to deal with that before…” Sylvain muttered to himself. “Anyway, I’d say to confront him and be firm. Just make sure he doesn’t run away. Or slap you.”

“That’s probably the most vague advice I’ve ever gotten.”

“Hey, don’t knock it before you try it. You know how to deal with him better than me.”

Linhardt sighed. “If your advice somehow helps I’ll treat you to tea.”

\--

The training grounds were empty aside from Caspar training vigorously and Linhardt both watching and hiding. If Caspar knew he was there he would avoid him. He was never one for being stealthy, but he had to try.

It took at least an hour before Caspar stopped and went to wipe away his sweat with a cloth. Linhardt quickly and quietly approached him, stopping when he was about a foot away.

“Caspar.”

Caspar jumped, turning around quickly to face Linhardt. When he realized who it was his face immediately turned red.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that! I swear, I almost punched you.”

“That wouldn’t be very good for my looks, don’t you think?”

Caspar took a step back. He was against a wall. “S-So what are you doing here?”

Linhardt didn’t move. He didn’t want to crowd Caspar just yet. He wasn’t trying to leave yet.

“I needed to talk to you. About your behavior.”

He coughed. “I uh… haven’t done anything wrong, have I?”

“Nothing against the rules, no. However, you’ve been acting strange around me.” He took a step closer. “I know you’re not avoiding me because you’re training. You usually drag me along to watch you. It’s quite boring without you around.”

“I, uh, I’m sorry for that, truly, but I need to uh… go rest my muscles now. Yeah. I’ve been training for a while, you know? Gotta get rest.”

“You’re making this so difficult,” Linhardt sighed. “Guess I have no choice.”

“No choice? Uh, what do-”

He was interrupted by Linhardt grabbing his wrists and pinning him to the wall. The pair stood extremely close, their chests almost touching. Caspar felt like he was on fire. Sure, he had the strength to break free, but he was completely frozen.

“I don’t like this wall you put up. I want you to tell me everything like you used to. I want to be able to drag you to the library when I want to research something, and I want you to be able to drag me along to watch you train. I miss you.”

When he was sure Caspar got the message he let go of his wrists and took a step back to let the both of them breathe. Caspar didn’t know what to say.

“Goodnight, Caspar.”

\--

The professor looked over the room to see if everyone was at the meeting. They noticed one missing person.

“Caspar, would you go wake Linhardt?”

“Wait why me?”

“You’re his best friend and the only person who can actually wake him up half the time.”

Caspar could feel his face heat up. Not wanting anyone to see, he agreed and left in a flash.

He knocked on Linhardt’s door, only getting a groan in response.

“Linhardt, the professor sent me to wake you up. You’re late for today’s strategy meeting.” Caspar found it much easier to talk to Linhardt when he couldn’t see him.

Linhardt just groaned again. Usually he would at least use one word to respond.

“I’m coming in,” he said as he opened the door.

Linhardt was curled up under a pile of blankets. Caspar immediately realized why it was easier to talk when he couldn’t see him.

He closed the door behind him then walked over and shook him gently, not saying anything. Linhardt didn’t open his eyes, but at least he started responding properly.

“Sorry. Can’t wake up. Evil sleep curse.”

The words evil sleep curse sounded familiar to Caspar, but he couldn’t quite place it. “So… How do I break this curse?”

Although closed, it was easy to tell he rolled his eyes. “You do not remember? Back when we were still students here…” He trailed off.

Caspar assumed it was mentioned while he was trying to wake Linhardt up at some point. He tried to remember all the notable things that happened while waking Linhardt up. There was that time he poured water over him, but that was before they were at the academy. Then there was another time where he accidentally slapped him so hard it left a mark on his back for four days. Then there were all the times Linhardt fell asleep in the library. And then, the day he had to wake him up because the professor wanted him to attend choir practice.

They were so young back then, he recalls. Somehow, while trying to wake Linhardt up, they ended up talking about kissing. About Caspar wanting his permission to kiss him. About… an evil sleep curse.

“Y-You want me to kiss you?”

Linhardt grinned. “Good, you remember. I did give you permission after all. That still stands.”

Caspar stared at him. It had been so long since they had kissed each other at all. He felt like his heart might burst out of his chest. Seeing how Linhardt had an arm exposed from under the blankets, he took lifted it up and kissed his hand.

“Hm… not bad, but not enough to wake me up. Try a different place.”

“A different… we’ve only… where?”

Linhardt shrugged, turning to be on his back. “Just try.”

The first place he thought would work was his forehead. Surely a curse would be in the brain, right? He bent down and gently kissed Linhardt’s forehead. It was strangely much more different than kissing his hand.

“Better… but still not right. Please, keep trying.”

There was no way to describe how Caspar was feeling, other than how he wanted to scream. Linhardt was teasing him. It wouldn’t be his lips. Maybe his cheek? Caspar tried not to think too much as he kissed it. It was almost overwhelming.

Linhardt shook his head. “My, Caspar. You’re very close to where you should be, and yet you have no idea. Just think for a moment, where would the brave knight kiss the lovely maiden to wake her in one of these stories?”

“I-I don’t… You… A-Are you sure?”

“Caspar, sometimes you really are an idiot, you know? I’ve given you permission before. I’m giving you permission again. Heck, I’m giving you permission for all the times you might want to do it again. Please, Caspar. Just kiss me.”

Despite the pounding in his chest and the heat in his face, Caspar felt a wave of confidence wash over him. He leaned in slowly, closing his eyes as if he was bracing himself for a punch. His thoughts were all over the place. He wondered if Linhardt really was okay with it, and if he would like it or he would be grossed out or-

Clearly, however, Linhardt thought he was taking too long. He put his hand on the back of Caspar’s head and closed the gap.

It felt like time stopped, like the only things in the world were the two of them. The only thing the two of them could think was the way their lips touched, awkward, inexperienced, gentle. Even though it lasted a total of about five seconds it felt like a lifetime of emotions were released. When the two parted, they stared into each other's eyes.

“Do you understand now?” Linhardt whispered. “I’m in love with you. I have been for years. Before the war, the five years we were apart, and all the time leading up to this.”

“Lin… I… I’m sorry for how stupid I’ve been. I didn’t even realize what my feelings were until Ashe told me. I’ve felt this way for as long as I can remember but I just thought it was a normal part of being best friends.”

“That’s exactly something you’d do,” Linhardt laughed softly. He then went quiet, examining all of Caspar’s facial features. “You know… You’re really cute.”

“Ha, I don’t think cute is really the right word.”

“Hmm… What about handsome? Or Beautiful? Would stunning work?”

Caspar buried his face in Linhardt’s shoulder. He was embarrassed by the compliments, but it was the best kind of embarrassed he could be.

“Lin, can I… kiss you again?”

“You don’t need to ask. I did give you permission.”

Their second kiss was less awkward than their first kiss, though still just as inexperienced and gentle. Their third and fourth also much the same.

After pulling away and enjoying a comfortable silence, Caspar remembers why he was there in the first place.

“Wait, we still need to attend the strategy meeting.”

“Oh, right, actually, we don’t.”

“What do you mean? The professor sent me to wake you up for it.”

Linhardt had a subtle grin on his face. “The professor sent you so I could go ahead with my plan. They’ve been trying to help me with this since I told them.”

Caspar’s mouth hung open. “No way. You schemed.”

“It worked out though, didn’t it? Lie down with me.”

He couldn’t deny him, so he got on the bed next to him, one hand immediately going to play with his hair. Linhardt just seemed to put him in a trance.

“I’m so in love with you,” he whispered.

\--

The war was finally over. Fodlan would know peace. Everyone was heading their own ways.

Linhardt and Caspar still didn’t know what to do, even as they packed up their supplies from the monastery.

“It feels like it would be wrong to return to the empire,” Linhardt stated. “Honestly, I can’t even imagine being a noble anymore.”

Caspar nodded, thinking deeply. “We don’t need to be nobles anymore anyway. We have the whole world before us.”

“The whole world…” He smiled. “Caspar, travel the world with me.”

“Travel? I’m surprised you even thought of that, let alone suggested it.”

Linhardt grabbed Caspar’s hands, staring into his eyes. “The only reason I would be able to bear it is because I’ll be with you. So, what do you say?”

“I think I might be rubbing off on you. This is the most energized you’ve ever been. How could I say no to that?”

They kissed, much less inexperienced than it was the first time, but just as gentle. Aside from a few roaming hands, of course.

“Where should we go first?” Caspar asked after they parted.

“Realistically we should find a map and pick out somewhere, but all I can think is how anywhere would be perfect if I’m with you.”

They kissed once again, though it was less gentle than before. Maybe it could be considered a celebration, or a way to decompress. But the logistics didn’t matter anyway. They’re in love, and they always will be. Besides, Caspar had gotten used to Linhardt pinning him to walls.

**Author's Note:**

> i have never kissed anyone or anything before in my life
> 
> feel free to check out my other work and follow/message me on twitter, @fl00fyfl0wer


End file.
